Zabqine, Lebanon - February 2007 — The bombing in Zabqine began last August, and the small supply shop owned by Hussein Bzaih was hit very early on.

“My shop was completely destroyed,” said Bzaih. “But I thought if I sold the goods from my house I might still be able to have an income, even though the war was continuing.”

Unfortunately, Bzaih’s house and second shop location were partially destroyed by a second bomb soon following. He had now lost his shop, most of his house, and most importantly, his way of making a living.

Recently, however, Bzaih received a small business grant to restock his shop from the UK Department for International Development-funded IRD emergency livelihood recovery project in southern Lebanon. The project helps people from 10 villages in the region by providing cash for work, farming equipment, micro-grants and vocational training. IRD has disbursed more than $620,000 in micro-grants to farmers and small business owners over the past four months.

“I could restock the store very quickly,” said Bzaih, “Now we have re-opened and are selling more things here than I did across the street. I sell everything from Coca-Cola to shoes and socks.”

His neighbor, Ibrahim Moslem, also received a micro-grant to expand his car repair business. With his own money combined with the grant from IRD, he was able to buy a hydraulic jack, power drill and a new tool set worth more than $1,000. He also bought a grinder to smooth out dents so he can begin doing auto body work.

“I want to be able to totally rebuild cars,” said Moslem, “I would like to have a one-stop auto service shop.”